Life In Annwn

LIFE IN ANNWN (NaNoWriMo 2018 Winner) by Owen Jones COPYRIGHT NOTICE Copyright © 2018 Owen Jones Author By Megan Publishing Services http://meganthemisconception.com All rights reserved. License Notes This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. CONTACT DETAILS http://facebook.com/tigerlily.thebook http://twitter.com/lekwilliams owen@tigerlilyofbangkok.com http://owencerijones.com Join our newsletter for insider information on Owen Jones’ books and writing by adding your email to: http://meganthemisconception.com CONTENTS1 The First Day Back 2 A Stitch in Time 3 Picking Up a Previous Life 4 Finding a Job 5 Getting the Basics Right 6 The Surface 7 Family and Old Friends 8 Increasing Involvement 9 Holidays 10 Meeting Old Friends 11 Family 12 The Spirit of Co-operation 13.The Beginning 14.The Dream Takes Form 15.Lost Treasure 16 A Drawing Becomes Reality 17.The Firestone-Eyed Cat 18.The Block Is Lifted 19. 20. 21 The Post Horn Gallop Glossary Fate Twister About the Author Ch 1 THE FIRST DAY BACK“Whoohoo, Sarah! I haven’t been on a horse since I was a kid, when Dad used to take me riding on Sunday afternoons after dinner! I’d forgotten how much fun it is. Which way is home, love?” “All roads lead to home, Willy! It’s so nice to see you enjoying yourself, my dear!” replied his wife laughing, her auburn hair flying back in the slipstream as they galloped along on their magnificent black??? steeds. “So, over that way, is it?” he asked pointing forward to a spot between two mountains. “Yes, sure…” “I thought I recognised it. I’ve always had a good sense of direction… I’ve lived in these hills all my life… Same as you, my love, eh?” “Race you!” she laughed non-committally, and urged her mount on. Willy laughed out loud as he hadn’t for several decades and gave chase to the horse that had a slight lead on him. “Tally Ho!” he shouted as he clenched his horse between his knees and rocked forward. “Tally Ho!” In seconds, he had caught up and he leaned over to shout to his wife, “I don’t believe in hunting just for the sake of it, as you know, Sarah, but I wish that those hounds were with us now… The Hounds of Annwn, you called them, didn’t you?” “Yes, my dear, but they are with us. Look behind us”. As he stretched around to look, he became aware of seven??? huge Irish wolf hounds??? lolloping along just yards behind them. “Wow!” he shouted, “I can’t believe I didn’t notice them before. This is fantastic! So exhilarating! I feel twenty years younger”. “And you look it too, Willy”. A while later, as they were entering the valley between the two mountains, Willy, leaned over again. “OK, Sarah! Let’s call it a draw! We can’t be far from home now, but I’m having such a great time that I don’t want to go back just yet. Can we stop here and lie on the grass? We can have a chat and play with the dogs while the horses rest a while”. “Sure, we can. Pick a spot”. Willy pulled his mount up within yards, saying, “This’ll do right here. The grass looks soft and green, and the view is spectacular”. They both dismounted and the dogs swarmed around them. “I didn’t realise how tiring riding is until we stopped. My back is starting to ache too…” “Don’t think about it, Willy. You’ll be all right in a minute. Come and sit here beside me”. “Don’t we have to tether the horses to something?” “Not really, but we can, if you like… To a sapling? There’s one behind you”. Willy turned slowly, his hand on the small of his back. “s’ Funny! I didn’t notice that when we rode up”. “Didn’t you, dear? Don’t worry about it”. Willy tied the reins loosely to the six-foot Rowan, and sat next to his wife. “That’s better… much better. I haven’t enjoyed myself so much in years. It’s great to be with you so much again. I have missed you, you know, since you passed away, or whatever you call it here. I forget now”. “I know, my dear, I know, but I never did leave you, you know. Not really. I was always there”. “But I couldn’t see you or touch you”. “Granted, you couldn’t touch me, but you could see me sometimes, couldn’t you? And you did talk to me… quite often”. “Yes, I suppose I did, but you didn’t reply”. “I like to think that you knew what I was saying”. “Yes, I think I did know, looking back on it”. “Yes, I’m sure you did. How is your back now?” “My? Oh, yes, my back”, he said rubbing it. “It’s fine. No pain at all. It’s just as if I had imagined it”. Sarah smiled at him and continued to pet one of the hounds that was nuzzling into her arm. “They really love you, don’t they, those dogs?” “Yes, and I really love them as well. I can’t imagine why people called them the Hounds of Annwn, or Hell, in some cases. They wouldn’t hurt a fly”. “Well, they are hunters, and they have to eat, so I suppose they have to do some er… I was going to say ‘killing’, but I suppose everything here is dead already, so… what do they eat? Talking about food, I’m getting rather peckish myself. I don’t suppose you brought any of those sandwiches from my funeral, did you?” Sarah was looking at him with a quizzical smile as she watched Willy trying to rationalise the situation he found himself in. “If you’re hungry, my dear, you will find some sandwiches in my bag”. Never liking to look in a lady’s bag, even with permission, he put his hand inside and pulled out a large paper bag that felt right. “That’s the one”, she said. Willy took a few out and offered one to his wife. “No, thank you, my dear, I rarely eat these days. You could say that I’ve got out of the habit”. Willy took a bite as she was talking, chewed and stared at her. “We don’t need to eat any more, do we?” “We can, if we want to, but it is not necessarily, no. Some people never realise that though and still eat like they did when they had a body to sustain”. “So, the dogs don’t…” Sarah was shaking her head slowly and grinning, “either, so they don’t hunt or kill anything…” He looked at the horses, “but the horses are eating the grass!” “Only because you expect them to…” “And my back? The same?” Sarah nodded, smiling as if at a child who had just solved a logical problem. “And look at this”, she said retrieving a mirror from her bag without looking. “I really do look twenty years younger!” he exclaimed brushing his dark hair back with his hands. “And my hair has started growing again!” “You said that you felt twenty years younger…” “and so I look it…” “Yes”. He stopped eating the sandwich and offered it to he nearest dog who took it and swallowed it whole. He looked at Sarah. “You wanted him to… you expected him to, so he did”, she said with a shrug. “You can have what you want, as long as people or animals are willing to give it to you, but you can mould the scenery to whatever you want, because that doesn’t hurt, can’t hurt anyone, since we all see and hear what we want to without it affecting anyone else”. “Doesn’t that make conversation rather difficult?” “Has it with us?” “No, come to think of it, it hasn’t, has it?” “Well, not for me, no… Nor for you, it seems. However, I choose to be on the same wavelength as you. You haven’t really tried talking to anyone else yet, but some won’t share with others, or won’t try to communicate with people they don’t know, but then that’s up to them, isn’t it? That’s the world they choose to live in… some people like people and choose to help, and some don’t, although that group is much smaller. Most people are basically nice… and helpful… in varying degrees, and the way forward is to become nicer and more helpful, if you want to put it that way… Onwards and Upwards!” “I can see that I have lot to learn”. “Everyone has a lot to learn, don’t worry about it. It is not a race, but most souls who arrive here need to be reminded about how life works, because the ways of the Surface have become imprinted upon them, but the impression does wear off, if you will allow it to, believe me…” “It is going to take a bit of getting used to… I can see that… or does that mean that I am making problems for myself?” “That is up to you. There’s nothing wrong with being aware of a situation, but dwelling on it, or worrying about it can make it worse, or even probably will make it worse. There is no need to be paranoid about what you think, but it is definitely worth knowing that what you think exists and could affect you and your existence… even be it only temporarily…” “The problem here is that in infinity, ‘temporarily’ could be a very long time… perhaps, thousands of years!” “Yes, but that needn’t be a problem… In infinity, thousands of years is less than a drop in the ocean, since there is a finite number of drops of water on any planet. What I am saying is that nothing can affect you adversely for ever except knowledge and that will always help, even though you, or one, may need to relearn, or remember, some lessons. Nothing can stop the steady improvement of the Self, even if some learn more quickly than others… As I said before, life is not a race or even a competition. And that is something that too many people have to learn, but there Ego’s are so fragile that they have to feel superior to those around them. “The true name of the game, to use an expression, is co-operation, not competition… Life is a team sport, if you like, not a solo event… Treating life like a solo event leads to loneliness, misery and selfishness, whereas if you treat it as a team event, it becomes a party! Or at least can do - that should be the goal”. “You make it all sound so lovely, my darling, Sarah, but then you always did have that knack. There isn’t a bad bone in your body…” She looked herself up and down and smiled, “There aren’t any!” “No, not now, but you know what I mean”. “Yes, thank you, Willy. You’re not so bad yourself. You were a good husband and in difficult circumstances. I think we did our best for one another and our daughter”. “Whether it was our doing or hers, or a bit of both, daughter??? has turned out all right. Anyway, enough of this Mutual Admiration Society meeting, I call it to a close. I’m not used to praise, I can’t take it”. “No, I know what you mean… Getting a compliment out of a Welshman is like pulling teeth with chopsticks!” “Was I that inattentive, Sarah dear? I didn’t mean to be… another regret to add to the list…” “It wasn’t only you. It’s just the way people were. We were all to busy getting on with a hard life. Don’t worry about it, Willy, I know that I nagged you too sometimes”. “Not much, and I probably deserved it. At least I got to get out, and even go to the pub, but that cottage became your jail… and I knew it, but pretended that I didn’t, because it suited me - I was selfish and I am so sorry for that now”. “Don’t worry about it, Willy. It’s all behind us now. You wouldn’t be able to do that to me now though, even if you wanted to, although that doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t let it happen to me again in another incarnation. Life’s funny like that”. “If you say so, my dear. Shall we move on now?” “Sure, if you’re ready. Where do you want to go?”